Hard and bright.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

These are days that are hard and bright, a harsh and arid blue altered only by the wind and dust.

It's the worst season of the year, more than a month early.

My allergies are off the charts, because the pollen's here early, too, never mind the dust and smoke [yes, because they keep doing prescribed burns despite the danger, presumably because they mismanaged it for so many years, not doing them, that there's no choice]. But I hate this season for other reasons, too, mostly involving all the costs that get front-loaded into every new year, and especially the tax stuff. Now there's the leachfield on top of that. And still no sales since week before last, and there doesn't seem to be anything I can do about that, either. I posted Wings's newest the other night, the big one plus the two new pairs of earrings, here. Selling those three [and the newest pair he's got almost done] would probably bring us current for now, but I know that's not happening.

But I have to do something. Last year was frankly terrible on nearly every front, and we had hopes for improvement this year. Six weeks into it, that's already a lost cause. Last week, we had to pay for door repairs, including rehanging the kitchen door and lock replacement on the front door. Three figures out the door. Yesterday, another $200 for septic pumping, which happens every 8-10 days now because the leachfield either was dug incorrectly or has had an internal collapse blocking it. The septic guys think it's the former; either way, it'll likely have to be redug. That can't be done for weeks yet, but it's going to be hellishly expensive. Meanwhile, we've paid out four figures, cash, just since Christmas on the pumping.

Wings had to buy silver for his work two weeks ago, and the cost has skyrocketed. The following day, it was another $700 out the door for more septic service and refilling our propane tank. Fortunately, the latter is something we only do once a year at most, sometimes once every couple of years. But it was in the red zone, which means it's time, and the cost has gone up drastically since the last time we had it done. Apparently, we also need to get the water heater serviced. I spent too much time on a ladder two weekends ago doing battle with it, and I've got a workaround for now, but that will only work for so long. On top of that, we have relatives with traditional responsibilities coming up, and that's very, very expensive, so we've had to help them out [and will have to do so in the months to come]. Another elder came to us last Tuesday for help. 

And then there's the really expensive stuff. The taxes have to come before the leachfield. Add to all that the fact that my laptop is dying, and I don't have the kind of money I need to replace it [the image work I do means that it has to have a certain level of power]. It's been on the decline for months now, but I thought I had more time; a couple of weeks ago, it became clear that it's going to be a very big problem sooner rather than later. If I can't replace it, I can't work; if I can't work, there's no income. And at some point, I'm going to need a power wheelchair. I'm ambulatory, but the constant pain makes standing and walking for any length of time both very damaging, and having to go to the post office or the pharmacy or the grocery store sets me back for days on end; being able to sit while in line or getting around stores would help a lot, but my hands are too bad for one that doesn't have its own power source. My Patreon down $250 again; that's both January's payout and now February's. That's a huge hit for us, one I suspect will prove permanent. I need to cover all of these things, and I have no way to do it if I don't bring in steady sales.

Wings has a great deal of new work on the site: the newest three listed above, plus other necklaces, Warrior Woman pins, Pueblo pins, lots of new earrings. There's more to come, including that new pair of incredible gray moonstone earrings that I haven't even had time to get up on the site yet. Go look; there's extraordinary work on there. An as always, all the regular links are listed below, with sales, as always, being the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities now are the liquid soaps and the descalers that I can't get here, the dog treats for the monsters, and the newest thing at the top, a harness that will let me haul my camera around [which I have to do for our work] without further damaging my neck, now that the pain has become intolerable); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim 2023, we really need to get this year moving onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.